Daily Yellowstone journal. [volume] (Miles City, Mont.) 1882-1893, 1887-04-29
IN THE SPRING.
The Festive Sure Thing Man
Visiteth the Famous City
of Miles
And the Suckers in Appreciation
of the Event Swallow the
Bait and all.
Notwithstanding the Hard
Times a Roll of Good Money
Departs From Hence.
HOMILY.
sure-Thing Men vs.. Suckers.

Strange as IL may seem, the sure
thing men never lack for patrons, and
the crop Of suckers always responds
with promptness and alacrity to all
demands made upon it. As in all
other professions, for profession 1t is,
though devoted to nefarious practices,
there are different grades of profici-
ency, and the bungling arts that are
used to rope in Farmer Hayseed on
his visit to town and steer him against
bunkO's layout would be Of little
avail IL used against his city cousin,
who reads the papers and knows
what's what. So the three caro- ex.
pert, who is grade higher in the pro.
fes,;on, will rope in educated respecta-
bility on trains and at excursions by
simply deceiving the eye-there is no
vulgar fraud practiced; the victim
simply backs his ability to see against
the other fellows skill, and looses.
He knows all about the game; that
other men have been taken in aud
done for plenty, but he has always
got the dead sinch on II until the card
is turned and he finds too late that he
belongs to the great army of suckers.
The two professors who workedsthe
Jewellery sale on our streets yesterday
unquestlonably belong to the first
rank of the sure-thiDg profession, aid
We are at loss to know or under.
stand how so small town as ours
came to he honored with their pres.
ence. With the affability and cour.
teousness Of men of the world, the
combined skill and dexterity of a
Hermann, aud acknowledge of human
nature possessed only by those who
have made it a study. Calling about
them in few minutes a motley crowd,
composed Of rich ana poor, cattle
king and COW boys, contractor and
laborer, merchant aud clerk, in fact all
conditions Of male humanity, some
whose money cost them no exertion,
and others whose dollars and dimes
were the representation Of days and
hours Of poorly requited toil-and 10
this assemblage the professors opened
up their little game, and dollars flowed
into their pockets faster than they
could handle them. Men who are not
noted for enlargement o. the heart
invested freely, biting again aud
again each time that seemingly
fresh inducement was offered. Others,
from whose pockets money could not
be drawn save for the direct personal
or domestic necessities. blew them.
selves In freely against the snap, aud
at TIE outcome had nothing TO show
excepta a pocke;ful Of worthless gilt
trumpery whose intrinsic value even,
Is ruined by the fact that the market
Is overstocked.
Moralists, preachers aud laymen,
merchants and bankers, do you know
the reason of this apparent gullibility-
IT is not gullibility, for that presup
poses iDnocence-do you know the un
derlying and abiding principle in hu
manity on which these sure-thin,
shsrps habitually and successfully ex
ercise their profession The sam,
impulse that prompts Farmer Hay
seed to risk his all on a bunko snap
was rampant yesterday in Miles Cit,
and exercised controlling influenc
over the crowd that hustled and bustl
ed around the jewellery fake fearfu
that II would come TO an end befor
they could get their money in. Ii !
the innate and ingrained desire o
mankind to get something for nothing
and this desire was 30 strong that
entirely overruled the better judg
ment OF nine-tenths of the crowd
admitting that one-tenth wa
OF the gullible class. Nine
tenths undoubtedly knew that th'
two clean cut sharpe, and skillful oper
ators did not come. here to enrich oul
people by giving away money sno
Jewelry. but the covert inducements
held out that they were to get back
their investments increased an hun
dred fold was sufficient TO blind them
to the impossibility Of winning n
another mans game, and they
crow ded forward blindly as sheep fol
low a leader.
I. - ...,,.l,u ,a eau tha laaat a.